Pump



Der 17, 1935. l J. TRELOAR 2,024,787

PUMP y Filed Maron 1s, i934 2 sheets-.sheet 2 Patented Dec. 17, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application March 13, 1934, Serial No. 715,359 In New Zealand March 30, 1933 4 Claims.

This invention has been devised with the object of providing, primarily, for improved means whereby the vacuum conditions necessary for the operation of milking machine installations may be produced in an economical manner and by the employment of steam at atmospheric or below atmospheric pressure, as the power source. The invention is not' however conned to the use of steam at low pressure, as steam at any pressure desired may be used with equal effectiveness. The invention is however applicable to all other circumstances in which fluids of all natures are required to be pumped.

The use oi low pressure steam as the power source, will however allow of steam generators of simple design and of inexpensive nature being used for the steam production, thereby eliminating all danger of explosions occurring through careless handling or incompetent attention. The use of this steam in the production of the vacuum concerned in operating milking machine systems, will be rendered most suitable as providing a cheap power source for the operation of the whole of the system, as well as making provision for a supply of steam for scouring and cleansing the milking and dairy machinery and utensils.

The invention embodies the use of an engine constructed to work on the old condensing principle under which a piston is caused to move reciprocally in a cylinder by alternately introducing a quantity of steam into one end thereof and then withdrawing it to form a vacuum, by condensing it, or alternatively, the alternate introduction of heated air or gas and its withdrawal. It consists in the combination with such a form of engine, of pumping means that are actuated by the pistons movements and which pumping means are employed to displace air or other fluids in the manner required for the special circumstances attached to the application of the invention.

In the general form of the invention the said pumping means are combined with the .engine piston and cylinder more conveniently upon the reverse side, or end, from the power side, o-r end, and this may be effected by so constructing the parts that the pump may be used for the exhaustion of the power end of the cylinder, as well as for dealing with the fluid displacement for which the appliance is designed. They may also be so designedas to provide that the engine power or energy used in the said pumping operations shall be less than that produced by the engine, in order thus to leave a surplus that may be employed as. power yfor-operating some extraneous mechanism. When therefore the invention is employed in respect of milking machinery it may be used to produce and maintain the vacuum required, and also provide the power for the operation of mechanism such as the pulsator means generally forming part of such machinery, or a cream rseparator or a Water pump.

The invention may be carried out in a number of diierent ways, according to the requirements of each application thereof. In the accompanying drawings I have shown some examples of suitable methods of doing so.

In these drawings:-

Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating a general arrangement of plant embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the power engine cylinder and its connections according to one manner of carrying out the invention.

Figures 3 and 4 are similar views respectively of two other modications of the invention.

A is the engine cylinder, B the piston thereof and C the piston rod. This engine works on the well known system of the class of engine previously referred to, the steam at low pressure being supplied from any suitable source through the 25 pipe D While it exhausts through the pipe E leading to a surface or other approved form of condenser F having a cold water spray G.

In the'form of the invention shown in Figure 2 and also included in the diagram Figure l, the cylinder A has a pump cyiinder IG afxed to extend axially from its back end and a plunger II is tted into such cylinder and is fixed on a plunger rod I2 that is attached to the engine piston B and passes through a suitable gland I3 35-y on the engine cylinder end. At its outer extremity this cylinder Ill has an inlet valve I4 that is connected by the pipe I5 with the condenser F and an outlet valve I6 that discharges to any desired point, as for instance into the feed water tank 4Q;

H (Figure l) for the steam generator.

This pump therefore acts in conjunction with the engine and serves to draw the exhauststeam from the power end of the engine, through the condenser and then to discharge the condensate 45,y

into any receiver, in the usual working system of this type of engine on the well known principle.

At the inner end oi the pump cylinder it is made with two oppositely positioned series of ports Il and I8, each series being covered by a valve chest I9. In one of these chests an inlet valve 2] -is tted to Icontrol the inlet from a pipe line 2'I, while in the other, an outlet valve 22 is iittedvto control the'ports I8, an opening to atmosphere:

being made in `this chest. The inside of 11the.55

Vals

pump plunger will thus act on its outward stroke to draw fluid in through the inlet 20, and on its inward stroke, to discharge such through the outlet 22. The plunger will thus act on its outside to deal with the condensate from the engine, and on its inside to displace any desired fluid as in an ordinary pumping action. If therefore the inlet pipe 2| be connected with the vacuum system of a milking machine installation the pump will serve to produce the vacuum conditions required for such installation.

In the arrangement of the inlet ports |'I it is required that some of these will be uncovered by the pump plunger II whenthe plunger reaches the inward limit of its stroke, so that at this stage the suction created in the outer end of the cylinder on the inward travelY of the piston Will actrupon the induction pipe 2|. When used in respect of milking machines this will aid the production of the milking vacuum seeing that the working vacuum generally employed Vranges from 12 to 17 degrees, while the degree produced in the cylinder is about 26 or 27. In addition the uncovering of some of these po-rts Il will result in some of the steam and water drawn into the pump from the condenser, passing out through the uncovered ports and then following the plunger as it moves out, to thus sterilize the inner end of the cylinder and plunger.

In the form of construction shown in, Figure 3, the pump cylinder I0 is made continuously with the main engine cylinder A and the pump plunger is made in one with the engine piston B and extends therefrom into the cylinder Id. In this case the pump cylinder wall near its inner end is made with a ring of ports I7 surrounded by a chamber 23, from which the inlet or induction pipe 2| leads. The outer end of the pump cylinder is connected with the condenser F through an inlet valve I4 and is provided with an outlet valve It. is such. that on the inward stroke of the plunger they will remain closed by the plunger until the last part of the stroke, when they will be opened, and will be again closed by the plunger as the outward stroke commences. This therefore provides that on such inward stroke, which also draws the condensate into the pump, a high degree of vacuum is obtained so that onv the ports I1 being opened up, an induction action is effected through these ports upon the intake 2| and the appliances connected therewith, such .as to break down this vacuum. Then on the outward stroke, the whole is ejected through the outlet valve I6, the ports I'I being closed as the stroke begins. In this construction therefore the plunger acts on its outer end, only, to draw fluid through the inlet 2|, and also the condensate from the condenser, and to discharge both together.

The form shown in Figure 4 works in the same manner but in'this the pump cylinder I t is divided off from the engine cylinder A and the plunger Il is connected to the engine piston B by the plunger rod I2 passing through a gland |3 of suitable nature on the engine cylinder end.Y

In this case, however, the inner end of the pump cylinder is open to atmosphere through a ring of ports 24 in order to allow of the plunger moving in and out without resistance upon its inner side.

The form of the inlet valve I4 and also that of the outlet valve I6 at the pump end, as shown in Figures 3 and 4 comprises a ring 25 of rubber or other resilient material that is stretched round The position oi the ports I1 a ring of ports formed in the cylinder end, and sea-ls such ports normally. This ring, however, will give outwardly under fluid pressure from within, thereby permitting of the iluid escaping beneath the edges of the ring.

Different ways of obtaining the above effects in a combination of the pumping means with the engine of the particular type may be eiiected, without departing from the spirit of the invention, as tins principle of construction and operation is applicable to a number of circumstances. In each instance, however, it is required that the relative areas of the engine piston and of the pump plunger must be such as to ensure that the margin of atmospheric pressure on the engine piston over the work to be performed by the pump plunger, is sufficient to ensure of the effective working of the engine. In some cases this margin may be made sufficiently great to provide for the engine operating other mechanism, such for instance as the pulsators in a milking machine plant.

The pump when made in the form shown in Figure 2 may be utilized for the displacement of liquids if so desire-d.

I claimz- 1. Pumpingmeans comprising the combination with a condensing reciprocating steam engine having a cylinder, a piston and an exhaust condenser, of a plunger pump disposed in axial alignment with the engine cylinder and having its plunger connected with the engine piston to be operated thereby, the outer end of said pumpcylinder being provided with inlet and outlet ports, one-way check valves associated with said inlet and outlet ports, a. conduit connecting the inlet port with the exhaust condenser of said engine, said pump cylinder having an inlet port adjacent the inner end thereof and positioned so as to communicate with the outer end of the pump cylinder when the plunger is at the inner end of the pump cylinder, and means for the discharge oi' fluid from the inner end of said pump cylinder.

2. Pumping means comprising the combination with a steam engine of the type herein described, ef a plunger pump disposed in axial alignment with the engine cylinder and having its plunger connected with the engine piston to be operated thereby, the outer end of said pump cylinder being provided with inlet and outlet ports, one-way check valves associated with said inlet and outlet ports, a conduit connecting the inlet port with the exhaust condenser of said engine, said pump cylinder having an inlet port and an outlet port adjacent the inner end there-- of and positioned so as to communicate with the outer end of the pump cylinder1 when the plungerv is at the inner end of the pump cylinder, and one-way check valves associated with the ports at the inner end of the pump cylinder to cooperate with the plunger to effect a pumping action.

3. Pumping means according to claim l, in which the pump cylinder is an axial extension` of the engine cylinder and the pump plunger' is an extension of the engine piston.

4. Pumping means according to claim 2, in which the pump cylinder extends axially from the closed end of the engine cylinder and the pump plunger is secured to the end of a plunger rod attached to the engine piston and passes through a bearing in the closed cylinder end.

JAMES TRELOAR. 

